How Everything Changed
by Xx.BiteMeh.xX
Summary: I lost Katniss that day, I lost her to the Hunger Games and I had to face the fact that I would not see Katniss ever again, unless she somehow wins the games. But even if she did win it, our friendship would never be the same. Gale/Katniss. One-shot.


**A/N: Hi! This is my first The Hunger Games fanfic. To be honest, I'm not a very big fan of Gale/Katniss, more of a Peeta/Katniss and Madge/Gale. But I just finished reading the first two books and I really wanted to write a fanfic for The Hunger Games. So I began to wonder how Gale felt when Katniss suddenly volunteered. Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p>"<em>Prim!" Katniss is yelling, the strangled cry forcing its way out of her mouth. "Prim!" she repeats and charges forward. "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"<em>

And that was it.

That simple protest changed everything.

I lost Katniss that day, I lost her to the Hunger Games and I had to face the fact that I would not see Katniss ever again, unless she somehow wins the games. But even if she did win it, our friendship would never be the same.

I had just stood there that day, somewhat dazed at Katniss's sudden reaction to her 12-year-old sister being picked as a tribute to the Hunger Games out of millions of other kids in District 12. But it had happened, and Katniss had taken Prim's spot. Prim was clinging to Katniss, pleading her not to go. I found myself again. I began to walk to Katniss and I grabbed hold of Prim. Katniss had volunteered, she decided to go, and I wasn't going to make it any harder for her to. I reluctantly wrapped my arms around Prim, feeling my head whirling with thoughts. My heart pounded against my chest and I gulped, trying to keep myself steady as I held Prim.

Katniss turned to me and her gray eyes locked with mine.

"Up you go, Catnip" I said, trying to keep myself together. Catnip. It was what I thought Katniss's name was when I first met her. Now it was her nickname. I turned and walked towards Katniss's mother. I place Prim beside her as I watch Katniss scramble up the steps.

And then, _he_ had been picked. Peeta Mellark. The boy who would represent District 12 along with Katniss, the boy who would train and live alongside her in the few weeks before the games begun, and the boy who stole Katniss away from me.

But I wasn't aware of that then. I knew Katniss meant something much more than a close friend to me; I didn't know some love-struck baker's boy would steal her heart and announce it to the whole nation of Panem.

After Katniss and Peeta Mellark are taken away to the Justice Building, I instantly backed out of the crowd and raced to the Justice Building. I needed to see Katniss one more time, to talk to her, to tell her what she really meant to me.

I reached the Justice Building, out of breath and sweaty. But I continued. I needed to get to Katniss. But before I could even figure out where I was going, Peacekeepers push me back.

"What do you want?" one of the asked me.

I knew how dangerous Peacekeepers were, how harsh they were. I had even seen them kill a boy with Katniss a few years ago. I would normally just leave but I _needed_ to get to Katniss, just one last goodbye. "I'm looking for Katniss Everdeen," I told them.

One of the Peacekeeper looked at me for a moment, then said, "Family members first. You a family member?"

Katniss and me? Almost. We look incredibly alike and we're closer than most siblings are. I begin to wonder why we weren't related in the first place. "No," I replied, almost reluctantly and ready to lie. "I'm her best friend."

The Peacekeeper gave a grunt. "Family members first," he repeated and walked away. "The room at the end of the hallway."

I feel anger pulse through me and I grit my teeth. Why didn't I lie? I needed to see Katniss.

When I reached the room, Prim and Mrs. Everdeen were outside, weeping. I felt my heart sink. Prim had just lost her sister, and Mrs. Everdeen, her daughter. I know what I had felt could never match up to their lost. But I hurt too. Katniss meant more than a friend to me, and she had been the one that made me feel better after my father's death. We were the same in a way. We had both lost our fathers to an explosion. We were both alone in the world. Katniss and I were the eldest in our families, and we were the ones to take care of them. Our mothers were ill with grief and somehow, our similarities brought us close together.

I took a seat in a chair beside Prim and Katniss's grief-stricken mother. I fumbled with my hands for a moment and thought back to the day Katniss and I met four years ago.

_I crawl over the fence. The burning pain of my father's death is still with me, and I feel the tears streaming down my face. They sting my eyes but I don't bother to wipe them. I jump and land clumsily on the ground. I had run away right after the ceremony. My mother called desperately for me but I ignored her. I had sprinted to the forest, seeking a place for my own to mourn. _

_I stand up and walk away. The tears are now spilling uncontrollably and I let out a soft whine escape my mouth. I can cry all I want. I don't care if others hear me. My father just died and I was awarded. What for? Why did I get an award just days after my father's death? It's stupid, being rewarded for losing someone so close to you._

_Something shuffles in the bushes and I jerk. I hear a low moan and a sob. Someone's here, and whoever it is, he or she is crying._

_I scramble forward and follow the sound. I wipe my tears away and pull a leafy branch out of the way to see who is crying._

_It's a girl, around 12-years-old. She has straight black hair, olive skin and gray eyes like most people in the Seam do. Only she's different. The girl that sits before me is beautiful._

_Something pulls at me and I lean forward. I recognize her from somewhere and suddenly it all pieces together. This is the other girl who was awarded. Her father died too along with my father. I feel some sort of connection to her and I sit down beside her. We're silent for a moment, our sobs breaking the silence hanging between us. Then, I lean towards her and ask, "What's your name?"_

_The girl looks at me and sniffs. She wipes her eyes. "Catnip," she says so softly, her voice is barely a whisper._

_I raise an eyebrow. "Catnip?" _

_The girl giggles. "No," she says. "Katniss. Katniss Everdeen."_

_I smile at her and we both start laughing. "Gale Hawthorne," I tell her._

_And from that day onward, we locked. We became best friends and met in the woods everyday. And I wonder if we were ever more than best friends._

The sound of the door closing from the room Katniss is in broke me from my thoughts. Madge Undersee was walking away from the door. She looked at me for a moment, dread hanging in her eyes. We stared, eyes locked. Then, Madge smiled briefly and sadly at me, then walked away.

I stood up and opened the door. Katniss was sitting on a couch. I could tell she was deeply heart-broken. Her eyes were drooping with anxiety and her braids were coming loose. She glanced up at me for a moment, and the light returned to her eyes. She stood up and began to walk toward me.

I opened up my arms, inviting her to come into them. And she did. She fell into my arms and grabbed my back tightly. Her head is rested against my chest and I wrap my arms back around her. I lean my head against her head. No words are shared in that precious moment, only feelings that I pour out into the embrace.

I didn't want to break the moment, but I did. "Listen," I said. "Getting a knife should be easy, but you've got to get your hands on a bow. That's your best chance." And I didn't realize until then how much I believed in her and how much I wanted her to win.

"They don't always have bows," Katniss replied simply.

I grab Katniss's shoulders to look her in the eyes. "Then make one," I told her firmly. "Even a weak bow is better than no bow at all."

Katniss tore her eyes away from mine. "I don't even know if there will be wood," she said softly. She seemed to be giving up, as if she somehow knew she wouldn't make it.

"There's always wood," I protested. I needed her to listen to me, to agree with me and win the games. I needed her back home, whether or not she changes. "Since that year half of them dried cold. Not much entertainment in that."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, and I could tell she was thinking. "Yes," she suddenly murmured, "there's usually some."

She was agreeing. But I could see the unease in her and I tightened my grip on her shoulders. "Katniss, it's just like hunting." Then, I add to make her confidence higher, "You're the best hunter I know."

"It's not just hunting," Katniss protested. "They're armed. They _think_."

I didn't like her disagreeing with me, but I don't want to start an argument. "So do you. And you've had more practice. Real practice. You know how to kill."

Katniss looked away for a moment and she blinked. Her eyes were getting watery. "Not people," she whispered.

"How different can it be? Really?" I said grimly. I was starting to lose my patience. Katniss was trying to deny everything I said to her.

Before any of us can say anything, Peacekeepers burst through the doors. They grab my arms and I pull away. "Please," I said desperately. "Give us more time! I need to tell her something!" And I really did.

The Peacekeepers ignored me and began to drag me away. "No! Wait!" I looked over my shoulder at Katniss who was standing behind me. She sprinted forward and clasped my hand before the Peacekeepers could take me away. She looked up desperately at me and her eyes were starting to get teary. "Don't let them starve!" she yelled pleadingly. Desperation was cracking in her voice and her eyes were wide with fear for Primrose and her mother.

I stared at her for a moment and I looked into her pleading, beautiful gray eyes. "I won't! You know I won't!" I needed to tell her. I needed to tell her _now. _"Katniss, remember I-" The Peacekeepers pulled me hard and Katniss's hand slipped out of mine. The door slammed and I feel my heart pounding with anxiety. I just stood there, looking at the door as if waiting for it to open magically. I thought about opening it again, but the Peacekeepers had locked it. I just sighed and I could feel my eyes beginning to water. I hadn't cried since my father died that night I met Katniss when I was 14. That situation was worth tears, and this was to.

I broke down. My legs buckled underneath me and my head slammed against the door. A soft whine came out of my mouth and I sobbed. My tears were staining the carpet but I didn't care. Katniss was gone and I hadn't told her what I wanted to. So I sat, bawling like a small child. Katniss Everdeen was the one whom I loved, and I knew she would change if she ever came back. And I wasn't able to even tell her how I felt. I lift my head and stared at the door.

_Katniss, remember I love you.  
><em>


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